Empire of Lynn
| Empire of Lynn | |
|---|---|
 The Empire of Lynn, as illustrated in Dragon Annual #1 (1996). Cartography by Dave Sutherland . | |
| General information | |
| Region: | Western Oerik |
| Government | |
| Ruler: | Unknown Emperor |
| Government: | Imperial |
| Demographics | |
| Capital: | Lynn |
| Races: | Predominantly human |
Empire of Lynn is a once-massive nation on the far shores of Western Oerik whose capital city, Lynn, is surrounded by myth and legend.
Description
The Empire of Lynn (also seen as Lhynn) is an ancient realm, depicted on only one map (at right). It is shown being contemporary to the Suel and Baklunish Empires and is no longer shown on "modern" maps of the region.
The nation once spanned most of central Western Oerik and was a major influence on the geopolitical environment there. Lynn was prominent at least until the founding of the Dragon Empire to protect the Abyssal Gateways at the end of the Demon War c.-487 to 0 SE (-907 CY to -420 CY), which was contemporaneous to the Twin Cataclysms (-422 CY). It is possible Lynn's decline or collapse came as a result of the Demon War.
In later, more recent years the Empire of Lynn was reduced to a much, much smaller area, perhaps little more than its capital city and lands. There is no lore regarding what happened to the Empire or when, but it is known other nations supplanted it. It is not truly certain whether the capital is still there, though it was at the time of Robilar's visit (c.570s CY)[1]. It is presumed to be (or to have been) in the region known as the Free States where mercenaries are now often recruited from.
Geography
To sages and citizens of the Flanaess, the city and lands of Lynn are "fabled".[2]
It is "somewhere across the eastern ocean and many thousands of miles away"[3] from the Flanaess, across the Solnor Ocean where it becomes the Oceanum Titanicum.
According to Dragon Annual #1 (1996)[2], the Empire of Lynn once spanned a massive portion of Western Oerik and once rivalled the size of the former nations of the Great Kingdom, Suel Imperium, and Baklunish Empire.
The capital city of the Empire of Lynn is "coastal"[2] and located "on the western shores of the continent of Oerik".[1][note 1]
In his later works, François Froideval locates the capital city of the Empire of Lynnn in the region which correlates to the Free States. Most of what remains of it would be restricted to what Froideval called the "Lands of the Emperor" in his version, the lands surrounding the capital itself.
People
Dragonmasters
Lord Robilar once visited the Empire of Lynn[1], and "...consorted with the rulers of the land [Mirrormasters, Dragonmasters, and Dragonpriests], at which time they granted him an honorary status in their order due to his intimate knowledge of dragons."[3]
Little is known of this sequestered, legendary order. It is known, however, the Dragonmasters' realm once was in the mountainous region near the Tribes of the Ellaves and was inside the Empire of Lynn; whether that remains true is unclear.
The Dragonmasters are described in Dungeon magazine #124, thus:
"… large humans in ornately crafted plate armor. Each set of armor is lacquered and filigreed with gold or silver and studded with gems that depict dragons in special and extraordinary ways, such as circling the length and breadth of the suit like a body-length tattoo. The armor is as much a status symbol as it is protection.
Dragonmasters begin training from birth and are weaned from the strongest fighters and highest nobility of Lynn. They are trained at a remote mountainous retreat, secret to all save those of the order. Every day they are fed poisons in minuscule amounts to heighten their resistances to the many poisonous creatures that they deal with (drakes, wyrms, serpents and the like) and are said to have staring contests with the more intelligent dragons, wherein they gain insight into the beguiling natures of these creatures—thus their resistances to mind influencing spells and powers."[3]
The precise year of Lord Robilar's visit to the Empire is unknown, as is how large the Empire was at the time of his foray there. Contemporarily, however, it seems to have fallen or declined and become much, much smaller—considering the modern arrangement of Western Oerik factions. All that is known now is the order of Dragonmasters survived into Lord Robilar's time (post-570 CY) regardless of whatever else may have happened to the rest of the Empire.
The Mirrormasters of Lynn are known to have dealt with mirror-related magic, and to have created the Orb of Opposition which summoned evil doubles of people from the mirror-world of Uerth.[4]
Religion
Little is known of the religious practices of Lynn, other than there being Dragonpriests who were in a station of command.[5]
Government
Heraldry
Military
According to Froideval, the Empire's army would consist of approximately 10,000 troops[6], which would suggest it is small by the standards of the factions of Western Oerik (possibly the size of the Empire of Iuz) and would easily fit within the Free States.
Economy
Because a large part of Western Oerik is composed of deserts, "the fabled city of Lynn ... has grown rich from coastal trade and the desert's mineral wealth."[2]
Publishing History
Black Moon Chronicles
The names of the nations on the Dragon Annual #1 map (shown above) were from the Greyhawk campaign run by a very close friend of Gary Gygax's (and TSR staffer) who lived with him for a time[7], a French gentleman named François Marcela-Froideval. He ran games with Gygax in his campaign, and Robilar (played by Robert J. Kuntz) even visited there once. Those names were canonized on that map, though very little more was ever done with them in officially published sources, for the most part. Those names included the Empire of Lynn.
In later years, Froideval would return to France, and would write an enormously popular graphic novel series, Chroniques de la Lune Noire or "Black Moon Chronicles" using the same names of the regions published in the World of Greyhawk and others of his own invention. According to Gygax, in his home game what he'd "planned to do was incorporate Francois' ... maps with Oerik."[8]
References
Notes
- ↑ Kuntz, Rob. "When questioned... about Robilar's trip to the east, Otto pointed to a map that Heward made for Mordenkainen and indicated that he believes that Robilar was headed to the Empire of Lynn, on the western shores of the continent of Oerik."—Oerth Journal #7 (1998), p.41
Citations
- ↑ a b c Robert Kuntz, Oerth Jounrnal #7, p41
- ↑ a b c d "Beyond the Flanaess". Dragon #A1 (Annual #1 1996), p.72.
- ↑ a b c "Chamer of Antiquities". Dungeon #124 (Jul 2005), p.85-86
- ↑ Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk (2007), p.173.
- ↑ "Chamer of Antiquities". Dungeon #124 (Jul 2005), p.85
- ↑ Froideval François. L'empire De La Négation. Chroniques de la Lune Noire. Vol. HC. Paris: Dargaud, 2013. p14-16.
- ↑ Guiserix, Didier (2011). Casus Belli #1. Entretien—Froideval: Gygax et Moi [Interview—Froideval: Gygax and Me]. Lyon, France: Black Book Editions. p.242-245
- ↑ Gygax, Gary (Col. Pladoh). Q&A with Gary Gygax (forum). ENWorld.com. Retrieved on 8 April 2025.
Bibliography
- Kuntz, Robert J. Chamber of Antiquities. Dungeon Magazine #124. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast. 2005
- ---- Robilar Remembered: Lord Robilar and Co.. Oerth Journal issue #7. 1998
- Williams, Skip. "Beyond the Flanaess." Dragon Annual #1. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1996.
Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.
| Topic | Type | Description | Product | Page/Card/Image
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lynn | Settlement | Settlement, | Dragon magazine #AN1 | 72 |
| Lynn, Empire of | Kingdom | Dragon magazine #AN1 | 72, 73 | |
| Lynn, Empire of | Kingdom | Oerth Journal #07 | 43 | |
| Lynn, Empire of | Kingdom | Oerth Journal #23 | 9 | |
| Lynn, Empire of | Kingdom | Oerth Journal #29 | 9 |